A World of Accordions Museum will hold the Dr Willard Palmer Festival, a fundraiser for A World of Accordions Museum, 501(c)(3) at the Harrington Arts Centre in Superior, Wiscomsin, USA to celebrate World Accordion Day (WAD). The festival will run from May 5th to 7th, 2023 and include a variety of concerts, seminars, exhibits and a museum visit. See poster for details.

A World of Accordions Museum (AWAM) have released their full schedule of events for World Accordion Day and the Willard (Bill) Palmer Festival from May 5th to 7th, 2023.

Download schedule: WAD_2023_Schedule.pdf

Select events from the Hanni Strahl Concert Hall will be live streamed. Please register online to receive live video links by email. To register: 2023FestivalRegistration

The first WAD was held on 6th May 2009, marking the 180th birthday of the accordion – 6 May 1829, the date the accordion patent was filed. WAD is organized by the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA) and has been very successful, generating a lot of positive publicity for the accordion.

Who was Dr. Willard Palmer? You can learn about his great contributions to the accordion/musical world by reading the article, “In Memory of Dr. Willard Palmer” by Faithe Definer, am important person in accordion history. Link: http://www.accordions.com/memorials/mem/palmer_willard/index.shtml

Every accordionist is asked to actively support this event by encouraging national and local accordion activities to happen in their country on May 6, 2023 or the weekend either side of WAD if that should be more convenient.

Register your WAD event today at: World Accordion Day.

For more information:
Helmi Harrington, Ph.D. Curator, Executive Director Harrington ARTS Center (HARTS) and AWAM,
For more information call (218) 393-0245 or email: aworldofaccordions@gmail.com

3-Day Event – May 5-7, 2023
Friday, May 5 – Dr. Willard A. Palmer Festival
Saturday, May 6 – World Accordion Day
Sunday, May 7 – Non-denominational Polka Service

Donations: Donations will be gratefully accepted.

AWAM Schedule:
Thursday, May 4, 2023:
1:00 Accordion Concertina Music Band (ACM) Rehearsal
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Friday, May 5, 2023:
Dr. Willard A Palmer Festival
10:00 – 10:30 Welcome to the Dr. Willard A. Palmer and World Accordion Day Festival
Welcome from the CIA – Kevin Friedrich
Welcome from A World of Accordions President – Helmi Harrington. Ph.D.
Reason for this Celebration
Available Resources at A World of Accordions
Introduce the A World of Accordions Board of Directors
Welcome by City of Superior Mayor Jim Paine
10:45 – 11:45 Museum Tour and Instrument Demos –Helmi Harrington, Ph.D.
12:00 – 12:45 Lunch – Deli sandwiches available for purchase.
1:00 – 1:45 Willard A. Palmer III – Finding YOUR Lady of Spain
2:00 – 2:45 Intro to Diatonics and Concertinas – Helmi Harrington, Rob Dingmann, Shelby Setnikar, Nina Ford
3:00 – 3:45 Art Bjorngjeld – Scandinavian Humor – story-telling, traditional folk music, and good-natured “Poke Fun at Minnesota” tales –
sponsored by Yvonne Marts
(Friday, May 5, 2023, continued)
4:00 – 4:45 Jose Curbelo – Transitioning Teaching Traditions
5:00 – 6:45 Dinner Break (on your own)
7:00 Mihoko Goto and Chiharu Ebihara Concert. Donations to assist with their travel expenses would be gratefully accepted.
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Saturday, May 6, 2023
World Accordion Day
8:30 – 9:30 ACM Band Rehearsal
10:00 – 12:00 Janie Next Door® – Music for Kids! – Jane Christison
Kansas City’s accordion-playing children’s musician, Janie Next Door, starts off World Accordion Day with a performance of songs from her
award-winning children’s CD. Then, kids, teenagers, adults – anyone! – will be given the opportunity to “test drive” an accordion. And with over 2,250 accordion-family instruments, we’ve got plenty to go around. This is a FREE EVENT. (Donations to A World of Accordions would be gratefully accepted.)
12:00 – 12:45 Lunch – Deli sandwiches available for purchase.
1:00 – 1:45 Moog Synthesizers – Influence and Future – Kenneth Bressler
2:00 – 2:45 Florian Chmielewski – The Great Entertainer
3:00 – 3:45 A Myron Floren Tribute Concert – featuring Dr. Mike Middleton on accordion with Clayton Capps, tuba;Lance Middleton, drums
4:00 – 4:45 ACM Band and Friends: World Accordion Music – Dee Langley, Conductor
5:00 – 6:45 Dinner Break (on your own)
(Saturday, May 6, 2023, continued)
7:00 An Oompa for the Home-comers – Dr. Anthony Bukoski and Bart Sutter with Art Bjorngjeld
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Sunday, May 7, 2023
10:00 – 11:00 Non-denominational Polka Service – Dr. Mike Middleton, accordion; Clayton Capps, tuba;Lance Middleton, drums; and Friends –- This is a FREE EVENT (Donations to A World of Accordions would be gratefully accepted.) Bring your accordion to join in as part of the service and stay after for an open mic/jam session.
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COMING ATTRACTIONS!
Friday, July 28, 2023 – A World of Accordions will be welcoming international visitors to the museum this week. While they are in town, AWA is planning a summit with the City of Superior Mayor, Jim Paine, as well as members of the ATG (Accordionists’ and Teachers’ Guild), CIA (Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes), and board members of AWA (A World of Accordions) to discuss the accordion in the world and how the museum fits in it.

Sunday, July 30, 2023, 2:PM – Accordion superstar Grayson Masefield will be in concert at A World of Accordions. Tickets will be available on our website as well as at the door. This is a concert you won’t want to miss. New Zealander Grayson Masefield is the first person to win World Championships in Classical, Virtuoso, and Digital accordion categories. He is the Instrumental Music Teacher for Accordion at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and is the founder of Aotango.

Grayson studied in France with Frederic Deschamps, completed a Master in Specialized Music Performance at HEMU Lausanne, Switzerland with Stephane Chapuis, and a Masters of Studio Pedagogy from the University of Auckland. He is regularly invited to adjudicate and/or appear as Guest Artist at international competitions. Over the years, Grayson has been invited to perform in many countries including France, Spain, Germany, UK, Portugal, Slovakia, Italy, USA, Canada, Russia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Portugal, China, Switzerland, Chile, Czech Republic, Singapore, South Korea, Austria, New Zealand, Australia, and Finland.

For more information:
Jane Christison, Secretary
A World of Accordions Board
janec@musicwithasmile.com
913-492-3883